Looking for some petite and practical gadgets to fill your stockings this holiday season? Mini MP3 players, diminutive digicams, technicolored iPods, and slim and sleek headphones are perfect items to top-off that holiday stocking. We’ve rounded up the ten best stocking stuffer gadgets and electronics of 2009.
Category: GPS
TomTom to Update iPhone GPS App for Free
TomTom announced today it will provide a free update to its iPhone navigation app—if it ever gets approved by Apple. That’s right, these updates have yet to be approved by Apple, but TomTom assures iPhone users that the application will soon be available. The new features are being submitted for review today. TomTom says that these
Best GPS Systems
Garmin nuvi 1250 $249.99
This ultra-thin GPS is affordable, portable, and has all the specifications of higher priced GPS systems.
- Unit dimensions, WxHxD: 3.7″W x 2.9″H x .6″D (9.3 x 7.5 x 1.6 cm)
- Display size, WxH: 2.8″W x 2.1″H (7.2 x 5.4 cm); 3.5″ diag (8.9 cm)
- Display resolution, WxH: 320 x 240 pixels
- Bluetooth wireless technology (connect to your phone for hands-free calling)
- FM traffic compatible
- MSN Direct compatible (receiver included)
- XM Navtraffic & Radio for U.S. compatible
- Display type: QVGA color antiglare TFT with white backlight Weight: 4.0 ounces (113.4 g)
Black Friday 2009: Best Ad Sales from Walmart, Best Buy, Target, and More
Searching for 2009’s hottest Black Friday deals before November 27th? Look no further—We’ve rounded up the holiday’s best sales, ads and web sites so you can get your Black Friday 2009 fix. These are our picks for Black Friday’s best sale items from popular retailers like Sears, Walmart, and Kmart.
Fuji J29 10MP 3X Zoom 2.7″ LCD Digital Camera Bundle 
This digicam bundle will be retailing for $89.99 rather than its previous $129.99. Its features and specs include:
- Storage Case
- 2GB SD Memory Card
- 10.2-megapixel resolution
- 2.7 in. LCD Display
Android 2.0 Provides a Free Google Maps Navigation Feature
What has Google done with Android 2.0 that’s making mobile reviewers squeal in delight? Simple: Google has added free Google Maps Navigation GPS software to its new Android operating system (OS). The Droid is the first device with Google Maps Navigation, providing turn-by-turn voice guidance as a free feature of Google Maps. The service is powered by Google and connected to the Internet—also, this free navigation feature is constantly updated, providing the most recent maps, so the driver can avoid road blocks, traffic accidents and road construction in their local area.
TomTom Looks to Google to Offer Mid-range Connected GPS Navigation
GPS maker TomTom has announced its latest navigation offering, the TomTom XL 340S Live, a new connected GPS that hooks into the AT&T mobile network and which features local search capabilities powered by Google. The XL 340S Live represents the first time TomTom has brought connected GPS services to the middle range of its product line—and that includes fuel price information, local real-time traffic, and weather.
“With the new TomTom XL 340S LIVE, we are bringing unrivaled quality and truly connected navigation to the mass market,” said TomTom president Jocelyn Vigreux, in a statement. “Now backed by the strength of AT&T’s network, we’re giving drivers the very best foundation on which to enjoy a range of useful, real time services.”
Micro GPS Mail Logger
When you’re a kid, dropping a letter in the mailbox knowing that it will end up across the country or across the world in a matter of days feels almost like magic – it’s hard to even comprehend how those men in blue do it. Of course, with age and experience comes wisdom, and with it, a little bit of bitterness as well. After getting burned by the mail with late, mysteriously damaged, and missing letters enough times, that childhood wonder can warp into a slightly more jaded sense of wonder: just what are they doing with my stuff, anyway?
ATP Photo Finder GPS Geotagger
For anyone who has ever sifted through old photo albums trying to use “some trees in the woods” or “some buildings in a city” as a reference point to figure out where a particular photo was snapped, geotagging technology is a godsend. Geotagging records the physical location where a photo was taken alongside the actual photo data, creating a record of exactly where on the planet you were standing when you took each shot. When plugged into the right tools, it’s like pinning every photo in your collection up to an enormous map.
Dash Express
While in-car GPS technology may have tackled basic geography by letting drivers pinpoint their locations instantly and plot out directions on the fly, gadgetry still hasn’t quite found a way of dealing with that constantly shifting nemesis of drivers everywhere: traffic. Besides the spontaneous and inconsistent reports from traffic helicopters in urban areas, the best that most drivers have to go on to find the clearest route from point A to point B is just a hunch. But a clever solution may be on the horizon.
Garmin Nuvifone
Whether you love it or hate it, there’s no denying that Apple’s iPhone has yet to be trumped as the ultimate cell phone, even though more than half a year has gone by since it launched in June 2007. While an array of similar-looking competitors have cropped up, none have perfectly nailed the iPhone’s style or capabilities, and its reputation has gone unscathed. But plenty of companies are still looking to undertake the challenge, and the latest models to appear show even more promise, thanks to all the additional time in the R&D incubators.
